20 Inches of Rain in 24 Hours: Severe Storms Crush the South

What's This?

People survey a Burger King on Brent Lane, one of the main roads in the city that was flooded out after heavy rains and flash flooding on April 30, 2014 in Pensacola, Fla. A major storm system that brought tornadoes to regions of the South dumped more than two feet of water in a little over a day in the Florida Panhandle.

Image: Marianna Massey/Getty Images

By Brian Ries2014-04-30 18:54:27 UTC

The storm system that tore through much of middle America this week is finally on its way out. But torrential rain has left parts of Florida, Alabama and Georgia under record amounts of water.

See also: Satellite Images Clearly Show Tornado's Destructive Path

Weather forecasters had warned the region to prepare for rain, tornadoes and damaging wind gusts through Wednesday morning.

As much as 20 inches had fallen in Pensacola in a 24-hour period, National Weather Service meteorologist Phil Grigsby told CBS News. As much as 5 inches may have fallen in a single hour, from 9 to 10 p.m., NBC News reports. That’s more than the entirety of 2004’s Hurricane Ivan.

A section of the town’s Scenic Highway was wiped out, and two vehicles plummeted more than 40 feet off a cliff when it happened.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency to seek assistance from the federal government and activates the Florida National Guard, among other things.

At least two people have died as a result of the storm; both drowned in their submerged vehicles on the state's Hwy. 29, a local ABC affiliate reported.

Residents, sharing videos and photos that reveal the extent of the floods, posted, "Please stay off the roads!"

The road bed of Piedmont Street crumbles after it washed out due to heavy rains on April 30, 2014 in Pensacola.

Image: Marianna Massey/Getty Images

A Burger King sits in flood water on Brent Lane, one of the main roads in the city that was flooded out after heavy rains and flash flooding on April 30, 2014 in Pensacola.

Image: Marianna Massey/Getty Images

A truck is stuck in the middle of flooded Piedmont Street in the Cordova Park neighborhood after it washed out due to heavy rains on April 30, 2014 in Pensacola.

Image: Marianna Massey/Getty Images

"Last night was like a hurricane and tornado all in one," Steve Olensky of Perdido Key, Fla., told CNN. His 22-foot boat vanished in the storm. "It was blowing and blowing, the rain was coming. It was just incredible. We've been through (hurricanes) Ivan and Katrina, and we've never seen anything like this."

A vehicle, surrounded waters up to the tops of its tires, sits abandoned in Beulah, Fla., on a flooded stretch of Mobile Highway following heavy rains near Pensacola, Fla., Wednesday, April 30, 2014.

Image: G.M. Andrews/Associated Press

In Alabama, local weatherman Bill Karins observed that the region’s Fish River was the highest its been in at least 60 years at 23.91 feet.

Residents of the area shared photos on Twitter that showed structures and vehicles completed submerged. “There are boats and cars floating down river. Even a house!” one tweeted.

"I've never seen flooding like this, even with a hurricane, you don't see flooding like this," Orange Beach, Ala., resident Jim Paar told CNN.

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.

Topics: Climate, Florida, U.S., US & World